What The Butler Saw
by DowntonIsMyLife
Summary: The awkward moment when you're trapped inside Mrs Hughes's wardrobe. April 2012 - New Epilogue Uploaded
1. Avoidance

**One shot, though knowing me I'll probably write more of it, incapable of keeping these ideas to a minimum. This is a kind of a silly one really the phrase just came into mind and I decided to base a story on it.**  
><strong>I'm not sure if I had a specific time for this, it's sometime in 1920 or any time after the CS really :) Btw Bates is free, because I like my stories to be exactly what I'd like to see in Downton (hence why they're <strong>_**all **_**Chelsie based :D)**  
><strong>Enjoy<strong>

It was a hectic day; he couldn't see why it should be any different to normal but for some reason it was. Everybody appeared to have something on their mind that was preoccupying their thoughts, they would snap at anyone who tried to distract them. Surely everyone should be celebrating he thought; Mr Bates had been released from prison and was once again back home and working alongside his wife and family. There had been an anonymous tip off and it had been discovered that Bates had never gone to London to see his wife but in fact gone and stayed with a friend in Manchester, he'd got the scratch from the cat owned by this friend. He couldn't face his wife, but upon his return to Downton he found his friend had gone missing – he had no excuse so had to say he'd been to London, he hated to lie but it would be too complicated to explain.  
>He was broken from his reminiscence by Daisy rushing past him to the sound of Mrs Patmore's booming voice. He made a mental note to avoid her, and O'Brien, ever since her argument with Thomas that morning, they were both going around looking daggers and anyone that they passed, oddly enough it had been O'Brien in a good mood and Thomas snapped at her, no one was used to this sudden turn of events. But now everyone seemed a little irritated. He walked into the servant's hall just in time to see Anna leaving in a huff,<p>

"I'm fine, just leave it!"

He stood still and looked to see an innocent and confused Mr Bates standing in the doorway; they exchanged a knowing look and smirked at each other before shrugging and getting on with their work, so he should avoid Anna too. He heard the jangling of keys behind him, normally he would be thrilled at the sound and turn round with a smile, but if even Anna was in a bad mood today, he could only imagine the mood the Housekeeper would be in.

"No Emily, I haven't got the time to discuss it with you, I said no and that is final!" she gave the housemaid a formidable look that clearly put the fear of God into her, she ran off up the stairs.  
>Charles took a step back but felt the wall behind him, he was trapped if she came near him.<p>

"Are you alright Mr Carson?" she looked with an amused expression, finding it funny that he should press himself against the wall. He was taken aback by this sudden change of mood.

"Perfectly Mrs Hughes" he stood up straight and pulled the bottom of his jacket to straighten it out, "the question is, are you?"

"Oh must you inquire into my personal business, I'm not your wife!" With that she stomped back to her sitting room and slammed the door – even she didn't know why she'd chosen those particular words.

He stood in shock, what was wrong with everyone today. He was saved by the bell however as he saw the library bell ring and he hurried upstairs before anyone else snapped at him.  
>He found his Lordship in the library wearing an expression he recognised - the same scared one <em>he'd<em> been wearing all day.

"Carson just wanted to make you aware I'm back from Ripon but I'll be in here till dinner, only tell the ladies if they ask. I won't ask you to go and face them"

"Is there something wrong m'lord?"

"I have no idea, Cora's been short with me all day. Mary and Edith have been at each other's throats, it's these moments I'm glad Lady Sybil lives in Ireland. I'm dreading dinner"

"Because the Dowager Countess is coming?"

Roberts face drained of colour, "Oh God yes, so are Isobel and Matthew, well, you'll be there as a witness if anything happens, hopefully Mary will calm down with him there" they smiled at each other

"Well, it's no different downstairs m'lord" and with that he left.

He stopped halfway down the stairs to check he wouldn't be cornered by any of the angry women. Hearing nothing besides Mrs Patmore shouting at Daisy, he retreated to the servant's hall but found he was faced with O'Brien who was sat their sewing. She looked at him and was about to stand up but he put up his hand, just in case she attacked him for some unknown reason. His eyes wandered to see a red shawl draped over a chair.

"Is that yours Miss O'Brien?"

"No!" she snapped without even looking up,

"Would you _kindly _like to tell me whose it is and why it is in the servant's hall?"

"It's Mrs Hughes's she had it in her hand then left it there, I wouldn't go near her though she's in such a foul mood she locked herself in her sitting room" she got up and walked upstairs.

Mr Carson looked at the shawl and at his watch, 5 minutes till he needed to ring the dressing gong, he picked up the shawl and made his way up the stairs. The womens corridor was the exact same layout as the mens but he noticed their rooms were not in the same place, whereas his was the first door on the left, hers was right next to the door that separated the two corridors, 'typical' he thought, she guarded that door like Cerberus to make sure the maids weren't sneaking to the other side at night, ever since Ethel, she was even more cautious of it. He opened the door and entered the room. Again, it was the same in layout but he couldn't help thinking that hers was slightly bigger.

She had an armchair, chest of drawers, bed and a wardrobe like him but she also had a small vanity. He'd never seen it before but he'd heard the story;

_When Cora had become pregnant, she promoted Mrs Hughes to housekeeper. Cora gave her the vanity from the room that was to become the nursery; the two women had always had a close relationship like Carson and Robert. Mrs Hughes had been supportive through all three pregnancies and always helped with the young ladies._

He went over to the armchair and laid the shawl over the back of it, he couldn't help but stroke the fabric as he did, it was so soft, he held it to his face to breath in the lavender scent that he always associated with her. The sound of a door shutting brought him back to Earth and he whipped around, luckily it was someone else in the corridor, he breathed a sigh of relief. He checked his watch seeing that he'd been up there longer than he'd intended, he made his way towards the door but as he lifted his hand to open the door, his elbow knocked over some bottles on the chest of drawers, hurriedly he picked them up and off the floor before hurrying out of the room.

That evening he was sitting in his pantry, a glass of wine in one hand as he went over some accounts. He sighed and leant back in his chair, he felt tired, the day had been long, everyone calmed down a bit in the evening but they were still very short with each other. He'd got out another glass just in case he received a visit from Mrs Hughes, he would normally enjoy her company but tonight he wasn't sure if he would. As he thought this he heard a knock at the door and Mrs Hughes came in with a puzzled look on her face.

"Oh Mr Carson, I was going to say goodnight" she noticed the second wine glass, "it's been a long day" she rubbed her eyes with her hand, he could tell that sleep would probably be good for her.

"That's perfectly alright Mrs Hughes, I only got one out in case you wanted a chat I might go up soon myself"

She smiled but looked away; she looked as if she was trying to remember something.

"Mrs Hughes? Are you alright?"

"Perfectly Mr Carson, It's just, I've just managed to misplace a bottle of perfume and I can't for the life of me think where it could have gone"

"Isn't it in your room?" He was confused as to why it would be anywhere else.

"I was up there earlier today and I noticed it wasn't there. I'm going to check my sitting room before I go up. Goodnight Mr Carson."

"Goodnight Mrs Hughes"

He finished his wine and stood up, placing the book back on the shelf. He walked over to turn off the lights but heard a clinking in his pocket as he walked, his heart dropped and realisation dawned on him – 'why would she take it out of her room?' He pulled the purple bottle out of his pocket and stared at it. How on earth was he going to explain this, he couldn't explain that everyone was in a bad mood so he hadn't wanted to ask any of the maids to put the shawl back. He now saw just how inappropriate it was for him to even be in the women's corridor let alone in her room.  
>He exited his pantry and stood in the corridor, he could hear Mrs Hughes rattling around in her sitting room so he took his opportunity, he ran up the stairs and up to the women's corridor, running to her room.<p>

He briskly walked to her chest of drawers placed the bottle on top. He saw that most of the drawers were slightly open, she'd obviously been searching everywhere for it. Outside he heard voices and ran to hide beside the wardrobe to hide behind it but it was only Mrs Patmore bidding goodnight to Miss O'Brien, he was about to leave when he heard Miss O'Brien saying goodnight to someone and when he heard who it was terror kicked in, he didn't know what to do so for some reason he could not decide on, he jumped into the wardrobe and pulled the door to, just as a grumbling Mrs Hughes came in and shut the door.

**Heehee, me and my devilish mind. It's a one-shot but I wanted to split it in two to make it more interesting ;) Please please review**


	2. Trapped

**Heehee**,** I hope you liked the first part, thank you for all your lovely reviews :) I really wanted to upload it but I hadn't finished so I decided it would split it up. I swear the next fanfic I write will be a one shot – I promise ;) I've written this on my iPod again so please excuse any spelling errors, it has the annoying habit of auto correcting my words :/**

**Btw, I have looked at each of Mrs Hughes's dresses and I believe that most of them don't appear to have easy ways of getting them off (ie buttons or hooks) so you'll have to imagine what it looks like :p**

What was he going to do now? He didn't even know why he'd jumped into he wardrobe, surely it would have been easier to be standing there to explain, now, what would shethink of him if she suddenly found him lurking in her wardrobe? She would probably go to his Lordship, then what would he do. He couldn't hear her doing anything so peeked out, she was standing at her chest of drawers looking at perfume bottle he'd replaced, she put it back and shook her head, he realised that he'd probably caused her to think her mind was playing tricks on her.

She crossed over to her vanity and began to take the pins out of her hair, humming as she did it,he noticed how she laid each pin side by side and ran her fingers through her hair when she was done. In the process of undoing her hair he noticed she seemed to decrease in age by about 25 years. He smiled to himself, he'd never truly appreciated what a beautiful woman she was. She was now sat at her vanity brushing her hair, 'he needed to make himself known soon but before he could think of a plan other than just jumping out on her, she got up and reached behind her to unhook her dress. His stomach dropped, this was getting more and more inappropriate by the minute, how could he explain that he'd let her unknowingly get undressed before he announced himself. He tried to look away as she got lower and lower down her back but found himself mesmerised by the way her fingers slid over each hook studying it before undoing it. She slid the dress down her arms and off them, she then held the top of the dress in her left hand as she stepped out of it. She layed the dress on her bed and stood up straight. He couldn't imagine how she could look more beautiful without her dress than with but the proof was standing right in front of him. The contrast of her dark hair on her pale skin, the curves of her body exhentuated by her corset, there was nothing more beautiful to him. Luckily she was still wearing her corset and underskirt, it was like a whole other dress but the top half was considerably figure hugging on her. She looked over her shoulder to the mirror, she sighed and ran her hand from her waist to her thigh. 'Dont worry yourself Elsie you are so very beautiful to me' he thought. She sat on her bed and removed her shoes, flinching and rubbing her feet, she then removed her stockings and laid them next to her. She stood up again, put her hands on her hips and slid her underskirt down her before lying it on her bed, she was left in her corset, shift and underwear, he was praying that her nightdress wasn't in the wardrobe but instead she walked to the door and put on her dressing gown. She tied it up, brushed her hair behind her ear and opened the door,closing it as she left.

He took his chance, pushing open the wardrobe door and getting out. But he hadn't watched where Elsie had put her shoes when she took them off and consequently fell over them landing with a loud thump, disregarding the pain he got up and headed towards the door. He listened and upon hearing nothing he opened it and made his way towards the stairs so he could toto his own room but before he could get to them;

"Mr Carson, what on earth were you doing in my room?" he turned to see Mrs Hughe's standing outside the women's bathroom with her arms folded.

He opened his mouth to speak but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back into her room, shutting the door.

"I presume that was you making that loud thump in my room?" her expression and tone was patronising and the way she would usually speak to a maid but not to him, yet he found it still made him nervous.

"Yes it was"

She nodded, "and what, may I ask, were you doing in my room in the first place, I can't imagine you would have been looking for me? Unless there's an emergency there should be no need for you to come up here to find me."

"Im so sorry Mrs Hughes, I didnt mean to see you..." he broke off and they both blushed, but he felt relief that she'd needed to go to the bathroom.

"Never mind about that for the moment, what were you doing in here?"

He took a deep breath and began, "I came to put the perfume back, I heard you coming and for some reason... Jumped into the wardrobe" he looked down at the floor, unable to look at her face.

"Why did you need to return the perfume? Why didn't you give it to me when I came tosway goodnight?"

"I didn't know I had it until after you'd left. I thought if I went to give it to you it would raise to many questions as to why I had it"

"And why did you have it?" he noticed her voice had gone higher, she seemed a little flustered too, he couldn't tell if she was just embarrassed or whether it was because she couldn't understand the situation.

"I knocked it into my pocket accidentally this afternoon"

"you were in my room this afternoon as well?"

"Yes" he breathed a huge sigh, he was very tired and would begin to get irritant in a minute, "I was returning your red shawl which you left in the servants hall"

"why could one of the maids have done it or why didn't you bring it to me?"

"You'd locked yourself in you sitting room and has it escaped your notice that everyone has been in a bad mood all day?"

She breathed out and it was her turn to look at the floor, "yes I noticed, and I'm sorry if I was short with you this morning" she looked up through her hair and he couldn't helps but think how childlike she looked.

"you don't need to apologise Mrs Hughes, it's me who was in the wrong, I shouldnt have come into your room without your permission, I am so deeply sorry to have caused any embarrassment" he turned to leave but turned back as he heard her laughing. He looked confused, "what's so funny?"

"Oh just the thought of you jumping into my wardrobe at the sound of my voice, I didn't realise i was so scary"

He smiled and stayed still, "yes I suppose it was, it was a very quick impulse, I didnt know how to face you if you found me in your room."

"So instead you decided to hide in my wardrobe and watch everything but my face" she raised her eyebrows but smiled. She could see he was embarrassed and she like to play with him when he was embarrassed.

"I didn't see..."

"Oh come now Mr Carson we both know what you saw" and he blushed deeply at this and she laughed.

"You're enjoying this!"

"Well it has been a long time since anyone has seen me like that" she said coyly.

"I .. I meant you're enjoying teasing me"

"I know you did" she whispered, taking a step closer to him. He closed his eyes aa the smell of lavender overpowered him.

"So...what did you think?" she never took her eyes off him but he felt he couldn't look into hers,

"Mrs Hughes! I..."

"Oh I think after tonight you can dispense with formality" he was silent for a moment, "Charles? Please, what did you think?" her face was serious now and he saw a glimpse of the woman inside, the woman she never let anyone else see, not even him, this woman wasn't the stern housekeeper, this was an unhappy, insecure woman worried she didn't have anyone to love her anymore - 'if only she knew.' it was only then that he saw how close she was standing,there was barely any space between them at all.

"I think you're beautiful," he brought his hand up to push her hair behind her ear and stroke her cheek.

"You do?"

"Yes, I think I've seen enough now to know" she blushed but his time it was his turn to laugh at her, "you are beautiful Elsie"

Without saying another word, he moved his hand down her neck, sending shivers up her spine,down to her shoulder where he pushed her dressing gown off her so it fell to the floor. He stroked her bare shoulders and ran his hand down her arm to hold her hand before pulling her into his arms so he could stroke her back.

"So very beautiful"

**I hope it lived up to any expectations you had ;) If you have any ideas for an epilogue perhaps I'd be glad to hear them, I'm thinking of making it M rated (hence the rating) ) I hope you liked this one :) Please review**


	3. Epilogue

**If you get an email update about this in April it's because I reread it and decided I wasn't all that please with it so I wanted to correct the mistakes and rewrite bits of it.**

She marvelled at the feeling of his fingers gently stroking her skin, the attics could be freezing cold at the best of times but when his fingers ran over her, her skin grew hot and she felt a fire start at her centre. She blushed furiously, all it took was him stroking her arms to make her feel like that, there must be a huge amount of feelings she'd been repressing considering how surprised this made her.

She asked him what he thought of her without her dress on, heaven forbid it sounded more ludicrous now she thought of it. She didn't know why she'd asked him, it had been highly amusing that he'd been hiding in her wardrobe watching her undress, but she felt very self-conscious, she'd never let anyone see her without her dress on and here she was asking him what he thought, 'how vain!'

She was now 55 and without the beautiful young figure she'd once had so she was damned if she was going to keep herself concealed in that black dress anymore now he'd called her beautiful. Years of being locked in her long covering dresses for too long. Now someone found her beautiful and by the look in his eyes he found her desirable as well, confidence engulfed her and she now wanted him, she wouldn't let him leave before she'd had him to herself. She'd admitted to herself years ago that she loved him so she knew she wasn't using him for pleasure, but tonight she needed to have him with her, she needed to feel his hands elsewhere on her body, she needed to feel her bare skin against his, she just needed him.

To feel her skin, her flawless porcelain skin under his fingers was incredible. For so long he'd longed simply to stroke that sweet loving face, but now the feel of the bare skin of her arms was like a drug to him. He could see lust in her eyes, love was there but tonight it would be lust that took over both of them. They were human after all, there was nothing wrong in physically wanting each other, of course it was morally wrong (hypocritical almost) but that didn't stop them, it was too late to start thinking over it, 18 years too late.

She brought his head down towards hers so she could undo his tie and collar, he kissed her neck and smiled as he heard her sharp intake of breath, he continued down her neck to her collar, lifting his head as he saw his tie and collar hit the floor. She worked quickly as she'd already undone all the buttons of his shirt - she herself felt far too confident but so did he and although this had been started by her, he was determined not to let her take control. She has her hands at his wrists to undo his cuffs but he swiftly grabbed her wrists and pinned them either side of her head on the door, she looked wantonly at him before he pressed his lips against hers, hearing her moan he was spurred on and used his tongue to pry open her lips, beginning to explore her mouth. Her arms wriggled free and she laid one hand on his shoulder, the other on his cheek, pressing every inch of her body onto his. His hands came to her hips and pulled her impossibly closer, they continued exploring each other's mouths and only occasionally stopped for breath, he let go of her hips and discarded his shirt onto the floor also kicking off his shoes.  
>He decided he wanted her on the bed so he could take proper control, this time his hands went to her thighs and he lifted her up so she straddled his waist - still without breaking their kiss, he maneuvered them across the room and laid her on the bed. She propped herself up on her elbows while he took off his under shirt and socks, as he looked back up she gently moaned as she seductively ran her fingers up her stomach, over her breasts, up her neck and into her hair, closing her eyes and tossing her head backwards.<p>

"You're certainly a temptress Mrs Hughes" he ran his hands up her legs letting them rest at her hips.

"And are you tempted Mr Carson?" she bit her lip and opened her eyes; the formality they were used to was now a new thrill for her. He leaned over her so his lips were beside her ear,

"Oh most certainly" he nibbled on her earlobe and was rewarded with a soft moan only just escaping her lips. They turned their heads to face each other and she took his face into her hands and kissed him again, this time he allowed her to deepen the kiss as he pulled her up to sit with his arms around her waist.

When she pulled back, he turned her around to face away from him. Now it was his turn to seduce her. He collected her hair and laid it over one shoulder so he could kiss the other, she moved her head so he had better access to her neck but he simply ran one finger down it causing her to shiver in delight. He moved his hands around her waist and up to her constricted breasts, gently running his fingers over them, he heard her breath quicken, he looked up to see her eyes closed once again, he smiled 'it was working'. He moved his hands back around to her back and one by one, undid the hooks of her corset, as he moved down he stroked his ring finger down the arch of her back, feeling the heat from her body through her thin shift. He threw he corset on the floor, holding her waist; he kissed her shoulders then ran his hands up her arms to rest where he'd just kissed.

"Are you sure about this? There's no going back once we have…" he simply held her shoulders as he waited for her respond, looking up he saw her deep in thought before she turned to face him,

"Yes, we've waited long enough."

It was the realisation of how much time they'd wasted that drove Elsie to do things she'd never had the confidence to do. He looked unsure at her so she ran her hands up through the thick hair on his chest, resting them at his shoulders. For the first time that evening they looked at each other with love rather than lust, their minds still spun at the sensation of the feel of each other. He placed his hands on her cheeks and drew her to him for a kiss, pulling her round to lie under him.  
>His hands stilled on her waist before he ran them up her torso underneath her shift, adoring the way she writhed under his touch. Leaning down, he kissed from her navel up to her collar bone, nipping at the skin he found there. She tangled her fingers in his hair as he stroked her breast through the shift, rubbing the nipple between his fingers until she moaned loudly, he looked up, her eyes were shut and she was biting her bottom lip to avoid making too much noise, he smiled and covered her mouth with his to silence her. When they broke from the kiss, he found she'd pulled the shift up as far as she could, he didn't need telling twice and pulled it straight off her, marvelling at how her skin felt softer than the silk of the shift. But as he marvelled at that he hadn't noticed that she'd managed to undo his trousers and was gently pushing them down with her feet.<p>

"Little minx!" He grabbed hold of her foot and began to gradually kiss up her leg, she giggled and he punished her by kissing the valley between her breasts and capturing each one in his hands, he kissed and stroked them until her giggles became quick, short breaths. He ran his fingers around the edge of them completely entranced by her unique beauty. Upstairs, he was surrounded by stick thin women with pretty faces but no curves; here he had both. The roundness of her breast was so enticing he couldn't help but kiss the path his fingers had just trailed, rewarded by a gasp from Elsie.

She'd given up trying to take control and instead focussed on pleasing him as he was doing such a good job of returning the favour. She ran her hands all over his chest, memorising every spot of pleasure she found, she was sure this wouldn't be the only time they did this; she felt his skin heat up under her fingers.

Eventually he divested himself of his trousers and undershorts in one and began to make his way towards his target, kissing her abdomen and moving down until he met the soft cotton of her underwear. He traced the waistband along her skin and hearing her sigh, decided he wasn't going to tease her slowly anymore. He pulled her underwear straight down and sat on his knees to look at her. He could never have imagined that this woman, however beautiful she looked in her black dress with her hair pinned up, she looked incredible without it and with her hair tumbling over her shoulders.  
>She blushed slightly, he might have said she was beautiful but she wasn't overly convinced, now lying naked beneath him, she felt surprisingly self-conscious. He saw this and reminded her just how beautiful she was, he lifted her to sit in front of him and pulled her close, gently stroking her back, letting them feel their bodies against each other. He kissed her passionately and laid her down again, returning to his target. He gently stroked her thigh, brushing against her centre; she gasped at the sudden intimate contact and had to grip onto the bed sheets to keep control. Seeing this, Charles decided to take her over the edge and brushed a finger against her folds, lightly tracing them around her causing her hips to tremble. He began by slowly inserting one finger and gently moved it in a circular motion; he enjoyed watching her face as he sent her over the edge astounded at how it was him that did this to her; he that could cause that delicious sound to exit her lips, he that could cause her hips to move of their own accord and he who could send her body to new heights she's never reached.<p>

She was desperately trying to suppress her ever growing louder moans as her arousal heightened with each tiny movement Charles performed on her. She couldn't believe the feelings he caused her, it was as if someone had set her whole body on fire but it didn't hurt, it was utter bliss. She worried that he was satisfying her and not himself but her concentration suddenly disappeared entirely and she grasped the bed sheets to keep herself from finding her release so soon.

"Charles…" she managed breathlessly, pleaded him to stop as hard as it was to tear herself away from such pleasure, she needed him inside of her – to feel their connection, their love, so they could find equal release.

He moved up to kiss her mouth, again silencing her desperate moans.  
>Triggering her own arousal had only heightened his so nudging her legs apart he slipped inside her, he tried to set a slow steady pace as he had done previously, knowing it would be a new experience for her and therefore painful, but the passion in her eyes told him otherwise. His thrusts became short and fast, as they neared their release she raked her nails across his back and wrapped her legs around his hips so he was entirely inside of her. Neither of them attempted to silence themselves as they cried each other's name, he collapsed beside her, taking her into his arms and gently stroking her back as her breathing slowly went back to normal and the trembling ceased.<p>

"We really have waited too long" he whispered, his warm breath against her ear.

"We have…" she broke off as she yawned and he chuckled,

"Sleep now my dear, we can talk tomorrow."

And with that she drifted off, giving no thought to how Charles was going to get back to his own room early enough to not be spotted by someone or how they were going to keep themselves away from each other with their new found desires. But he was right, they could talk tomorrow, though sometimes talking was overrated and you simply needed someone to love and hold you.

And that's just what she had.

**I hope this is better, somehow I didn't think I'd written enough, so I hope you enjoyed this one more – please review :)**


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